The 181,000-member Methodist Church of Brazil is a dynamic and growing community with a clear sense of mission and purpose.

The challenge the Church faces is great: since the 1980s, tens of millions of Brazilians have migrated to urban areas, where acute economic distress has created the greatest number of "street children" in the world.

The Brazilian government has proved unable to contain this humanitarian crisis, or to direct sufficient resources to families living at subsistence levels in the interior, where people live without necessary resources. Initiatives of Hope works in partnership with the Brazilian Methodist Church to address the medical needs of communities in the Amazon River Basin and to assist the growing network of centers for children in urban areas.

IOH’s partnership with the Brazilian United Methodist Church supports these projects:

• Shade and Fresh Water Project, which uplifts impoverished urban children by providing them with a caring community, food, and education in a safe environment in Shade and Fresh Water Centers run by local churches. Right click here to download a video about the project.

• The John Wesley Medical Boat, which delivers health care to remote villages along the Amazon.

To find out how your church can be involved with the children of the Shade and Fresh Water Project and the communities of the Amazon River, click on ‘Partnerships.’

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